Winter/Spring 2006

Summary of What's New:

Umbrella Theme for Current Edition:

Perspectives on Foster Care:
Custody, Visitation, Services & Other Issues

New Sections:

• The Audio Perspective
• The Whittier Journal Of Child & Family Advocacy (WJCFA) of The Center of Children's Rights (CCR) of Whittier Law School

Updated Sections:

• Articles Section
• Conferences
• Perspectives on Perseverance
• The Professional Perspective
• The Program Perspective
• Editorial & Advisory Boards
• POY Archive Section
• Acknowledgments
• POY Time Line
• About POY

Details of What's New

Perspectives On Foster Care: Custody, Visitation, Services & Other Issues
Included in the multifaceted and always significant topic of foster care:

Articles Section

Features 10 in-depth timely investigative and feature articles by Youth Today Magazine on the ever important issue of foster care.

The Audio Perspective

As one of a number of technical enhancements planned for the future, The Audio Perspective is POY's New Section of audio clips. The first edition highlights important dynamics of foster care, allowing site visitors to listen to "perspectives" by hearing in voice what cannot always be gleaned through words alone. Featured in this Section:

• Dr. Francine Cournos, reads passages from her book City Of One: A Memoir; a book highly acclaimed by the New York Times; Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and many others for its unique and poignant view of her own experience. Through Dr. Cournos' reading, site visitors have a special opportunity to hear the words she authored about her frustrating and most challenging experience in Foster Care.
• POY Founder & Editor, Joi Kohlhagen, introducing Dr. Cournos' reading and discussing concepts of custody and visitation in foster care that are pervasive throughout City Of One: A Memoir.
• POY Editor-At-Large, Al Desetta, discussing the importance of resilience among children in the foster care system.

Perspectives On Perseverance

Resilience is a pervading theme throughout perspectivesonyouth.org, particularly in the Perspectives On Perseverance Section.

In this most recent update of the Perspectives On Perseverance Section, Al Desetta profiles a young woman, now 18, who courageously and candidly shares her experience in foster care, from which she recently "graduated."

The Professional Perspective

Dr. Francine Cournos, who is featured in POY's new The Audio Perspective Section, is interviewed by Al Desetta. It is an inspiring interview that offers great insight into a remarkable woman who overcame significant loss and hardship during her years in foster care. Today, Dr. Cournos is a noted psychiatrist, author, and medical school professor.

The Program Perspective

Perspectives Of Foster Parents

POY Advisory Board Members Cynthia and Father Dallas Decker provide a glimpse into their very unique experience of having been foster parents to over 50 children over the course of 40 years. Their article has been featured on perspectivesonyouth.org in the past. Positive reader feedback has indicated that many readers were both touched and inspired by the article and makes a reprint of it timely given the context of the current Foster Care theme.

In Addition to Issues Involving Foster Care, The Current Edition of Perspectives On Youth Also Includes:

Introducing:

The Whittier Journal of Child & Family Advocacy

• Perspectivesonyouth.org is honored to present the new Section: The Whittier Journal of Child & Family Advocacy (WJCFA). The journal, which is part of the Center for Children's Rights at Whittier Law School is an outstanding publication that promotes the well-being of children through its consistently outstanding material of research, articles, and other resources to advocate for the rights and empowerment of children. To learn more about the journal and the Center for Children's Rights, please visit http://www.law.whittier.edu/centers_clinics/childcenter.asp

The Conferences Section

• Includes Extensive listings of many conferences ranging from January, 2006 through May, 2006 on an array of multiple disciplines and specialties of interest to interdisciplinary professionals that work with youth.

As noted above additional Sections updated in the current issues of Perspectives On Youth include:

The Sections:

• Editorial & Advisory Boards
• POY Archive Section
• Acknowledgments
• POY Time Line
• About POY

What's New with Members of the
Editorial and Advisory Boards of POY

POYis pleased to welcome:

• David Lefkowitz, as Managing Editor (in addition to his pre-existing role as Performing and Media Arts Editor).
• Joyce Weil as POY's newest Advisory Board Member.